The present invention relates to hydrant covers and, in particular, to covers having a domed hood to cover the hydrant bonnet.
Hydrants must be painted regularly to protect them. This maintenance is time-consuming and costly. Often the paint is color coded to indicate the pressure or flow rate. Accordingly, painting is not only important for protection, but to make the hydrant visible in an emergency. Regular painting, however, builds a thick coating on nuts that may then become difficult to remove when the internal mechanism of the hydrant must be repaired.
It is known to provide a cylindrical skirt on a hydrant that may be released and dropped by a key. The skirt is designed to prevent tampering. However, this arrangement interferes with the use of the hydrant in an emergency. The structure does not closely conform to the shape of the hydrant; and therefore is an interference.
Other known hydrant covers are mostly in the form of a box, which encloses the hydrant for protection and other purposes. Again these covers interfere with the use of the hydrant and impose an additional step which must be performed before the hydrant can be used in an emergency.
Accordingly, there is a need for a efficient way of both protecting a hydrant and coloring it appropriately so that it is either visible in an emergency or color coded to indicate its capacity.